misc.

I got kidney cancer last night. Fortunately, the disease only lasted an hour. The fact that I was the diagnostician had something to do with the length of the disease, but what else could I suspect when, getting ready for bed, the toilet water looked liked I had hemorrhaged? Then I realized these symptoms had been building for the last couple of days. Since I had no other symptoms typical of a UTI, kidney cancer just plain made sense.

As I lay in bed, trying to wrap my mind around my diagnosis, I wondered when I would find the time to pee in a bucket at my doc’s office, only to make it official. Then, my husband Mike showed up for bed. At first I didn’t tell him. I wanted to shield him from the pain. He likes me, or at least he tells me that a lot. Finally, I decided it wasn’t fair to keep the news from him. So, I sat up in bed and announced, “Mike, there’s blood in my urine.” For a moment he was despondent. I like that in a man. Then he paused. “Ahhh, Rudy, do you think it could have something to do with the beets?” Oops! It’s true. About a week ago, I started drinking a daily glass of beet juice. And that was around the same time my urine manifested a funny, much darker and robust color. A fellow heart patient had reported online that she experienced wonderful cardiac symptom improvements with daily beet juice, so I had decided to give it a try. As Mike readied himself for bed, I googled “drinking beet juice” and sure ’nuff, there on WebMD, the last sentence of a 5 page article mentioned an eery symptom of blood-like pee. Oh, well. . .

Here’s the really good news, when I climbed into bed before Mike arrived and subsequently cured me, I whispered a prayer to Jesus and it went something like this: “It’ll be ok, Jesus. I know we’re in this together.”

Have you ever had a scare, unfounded or real? And did you invite Jesus to walk alongside you?

what people are saying

In preparing for our Ladies Spring Brunch, we were so blessed to have found Rudy as our special speaker. As I coordinated this event, Rudy returned my phone calls, promptly. She carefully listened to all I had to say and graciously gave me all the time I needed. She helped me by telling me what other groups had done in the past, and she e-mailed me some information to put in our invitations and flyers. She asked me good questions so as to suit her message to our unique group.
Rudy arrived early. She was very personable and friendly and showed an interest in our ladies. In Rudy’s presentation, she made us laugh with her funny stories. But she shared her personal losses and struggles with great sensitivity and grace in a way that many could relate to. Rudy is a master storyteller, humble, engaging and inspiring. All were absorbed and attentive for a full hour. Afterwards she lingered, leaving a parting encouragement. I would highly recommend Rudy as a special speaker. She was perfect for us!!
— Rhonda Schultz , Faith Baptist Church, Stoughton, MA